 "Photo: Shaun Stewart")
Tires on roughly 35 cars parked near 39th and Guadalupe streets were slashed during the weekend.
Samarjit Chakraborty, geology graduate student and resident of Andrews Apartments, said that his tires were slashed twice over the weekend.
His two left tires were slashed Thursday night, repaired, and then re-slashed Saturday night.
According to resident estimates, two to four tires were slashed at three apartment complexes: Andrews Apartments, La Paz Apartments and El Campo Apartments. Five, 10 and 20 incidences occurred at each complex, respectively.
A reputation for this type of vandalism has grown in this part of Hyde Park and residents feel that apartment management and the Austin Police Department aren't doing enough to prevent a reoccurrence.
"We've heard of these things happening around this time every year for almost three years, and the apartment has no kind of security cameras," Titash Sridharan, a resident of La Paz, said.
Roger and Debbie Wielan were helping their son Chris fix four slashed tires on his Chevy Tahoe, costs which totaled close to $900.
"APD didn't want to help," Roger Wielan said. "It took several calls to get them to come out, and when they did come out, they said the situation didn't even warrant taking fingerprints."
APD Chief Information Officer Laura Albrecht said no details of the investigation or APD actions could be discussed.
The family was also concerned for their son's girlfriend, Olga Kazakova, who lives across the street in El Campo Apartments, and who managed to avoid having her tires slashed but only because, they believe, she left her apartment so early in the morning. Residents believe the incidents happened between 4 and 7 in the morning.
"It's still dark at that time, and just imagine her walking out on that kind of thing happening. These people have knives, and there are a lot of young girls who could be in danger. The guys, too," Debbie Wielan said.
All the tires were punctured with small, thin cuts, usually multiple times until a large enough gash was made.
Kazakova said she chose to live in this area of Hyde Park because it was safe and right across the street from an elementary school, and the apartment complexes are known for being pretty quiet.
Chakraborty said his apartment's emergency contact number has yet to get back to him from the first incident Thursday night and while his apartment had a surveillance camera right above his vehicle, they have yet to inform him if that footage captured anything or if they are working with APD.
Just two weeks ago, 10 cars were vandalized with slashed tires and broken windows near 28th and Rio Grande streets.
APD could not comment on any aspect of the investigation until normal business hours Monday morning. Apartment management offices were also closed for the weekend.
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